Page 7 of Guarded

“You sleep on the plane?”

“Not much.”

“How come?”

“Too busy thinking about you.”

She blinked and lowered her chopsticks. “Me? Why?”

A rueful look came over his face, then he chuckled as he shook his head. “Because you’re my wife and I missed you.”

Awww. “Well that’s nice to hear. I…missed you too.” She resisted the urge to glance around and make sure no one had overheard her.

Now his eyes laughed at her. “One day you’re going to be able to say it without sounding like you’re choking.”

She flushed. She was trying to be more comfortable with telling him how she felt, she really was. “I didn’t sound like I was choking.”

He let it go. “You about done there?” He nodded at her plate, an unmistakable gleam of male interest in his eyes.

“Someone’s in a hurry. And no, I’m not. I’m starving.” She stuffed another bite into her mouth. “I’m thinking a little delayed gratification is good for you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He turned and flagged down their server to pay the bill while Briar finished everything on her plate.

She drove them home after. When she glanced over at him a few minutes in, Matt was fast asleep, his head resting on the passenger window. He wasn’t a napper, so he must be exhausted. Her heart squeezed at the proof that a man like him trusted her enough to completely relax and let himself go that way.

He woke when she slowed in front of their house and the front tires of the truck bumped over the edge of the driveway, inhaled deeply as he straightened in his seat. Going from deep under to totally alert in the space of a heartbeat, the result of spending his entire adult life in elite military service to his country. She was exactly the same.

Pulling into the garage, tiny jitters fluttered in her belly. A little nervousness, a lot of excitement. Would he react the way she’d imagined?

She followed him up to their bedroom, sat on the bed while he took his bag into their closet. For the past few hours she had thought over and over about how to tell him. Some women came up with cute or clever ways to do it. That wasn’t her. So she would just tell him straight up.

He came out of the walk-in, nodded toward the attached bathroom and raised an eyebrow. “I’m gonna grab a shower. You wanna join me?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

He disappeared into the bathroom. The shower ran. She waited until she heard the shower door open, then got up and followed him. The sight that greeted her was more than worth the wait.

Matt stood facing away from her under the spray, the muscular glory of his back, shoulders and ass on perfect display. Mmmm, she would never tire of that view.

As if he sensed her stare, he angled a look over his shoulder at her. “Coming?”

“Not yet,” she answered with a coy little smile. “But hopefully soon.”

He beckoned her closer with a jerk of his head. “Get that sexy ass in here.” The heated, absorbed look he gave her sent heat punching through her.

She left her clothes where they fell on the floor, then stepped into the shower with him. The door hadn’t yet shut completely when he spun around to grab her around the hips and hoisted her off the floor. With one quick move he had her pinned to the wet tile wall with his hard, aroused body.

Briar wrapped her legs around his waist, smiling as he buried his face in the side of her neck and growled, both hands palming her butt. Oh yeah, he’dreallymissed her. “I have something to tell you,” she said before things inched closer to the point of no return.

“Later,” he muttered, dragging his tongue down her neck.

She shivered, closed her eyes a second.No. Wait.“I really think you want to hear this now.” She tugged at his hair. “Matt.”

With a groan he stopped and lifted his head to stare down at her with those hungry green eyes. “Fine, I’m listening. What?”

She bit the edge of her lower lip for a second, hesitating, savoring the anticipation as the moment stretched out. “I’m pregnant.”

He froze, seemed to even stop breathing as he stared at her, his expression going blank with astonishment. “What? Are you sure?”

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